By Marcus Moloko
MultiChoice will close four DStv channels in September as it reshapes its television line-up, while several SuperSport channels will be renamed later this month.
Mzansi Bioskop, Mzansi Music, M-Net Movies 1 and kykNET Lekker will stop broadcasting at 23:59 on 16 September 2026, MultiChoice has confirmed.
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The closures come amid restructuring at MultiChoice following Canal+’s takeover of the pay-TV group, although the company has attributed the changes to shifting viewing habits and efforts to simplify DStv’s channel offering.
MultiChoice said: “As viewing habits continue to change, we’re refining the DStv channel line-up to match. Rather than spreading similar content across many channels, we’re concentrating on fewer, stronger channels.”
Programming carried by the affected channels is expected to remain available elsewhere across the DStv platform.
Mzansi Bioskop, which launched in 2013, has served as a dedicated platform for South African films and emerging filmmakers, including graduates of the MultiChoice Talent Factory.
Mzansi Music has been on DStv since 2012, while kykNET Lekker launched in 2020 as an Afrikaans entertainment channel aimed initially at DStv Access subscribers.
M-Net’s dedicated movie-channel history stretches back to the launch of Movie Magic in 1995. The current M-Net Movies 1 name, however, dates from September 2020, when MultiChoice consolidated its M-Net movie channels into four numbered services.
The closure of M-Net Movies 1 will leave M-Net Movies 2, 3 and 4 on the platform.
Separately, MultiChoice is also renaming a number of SuperSport channels from 19 August as part of an effort to make sports content easier for viewers to identify and find.
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Under the changes, SuperSport Variety 1 will become SuperSport Football Plus, Variety 2 will become SuperSport KickOff, Variety 3 will become SuperSport Africa and Variety 4 will become SuperSport Action.
The existing SuperSport Action channel will also be renamed as part of the restructuring, with MultiChoice introducing an updated SuperSport channel line-up.
MultiChoice has confirmed the SuperSport changes, although SuperSport had not published a standalone public announcement on its website at the time of writing.
